Summer hits make a splash

Sure, summer is nearly over and back-to-school lurks in the shadows. But this is Florida, and the summer still has much fuel for beach pilgrimages and top-down cruising.

By Dave SchlenkerEntertainment editor

Sure, summer is nearly over and back-to-school lurks in the shadows. But this is Florida, and the summer still has much fuel for beach pilgrimages and top-down cruising. That, of course, demands summer tunes. And these days, summer songs go well beyond Beach Boys staples. They are top hits in hot days, the pop anthems that flood radio request lines. These are the songs that carve memories out of seasons. Many contend Rihanna’s hip hop/pop smash “Umbrella” framed the summer of ’07, while Kid Rock’s slacker anthem “All Summer Long” partied with Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl” in the heated days of ’08.“I think you can define a summer song if, A, it has references to summer in the lyrics, B, it brings back memories of a particular summer, or C, it was a hit or part of the ‘soundtrack’ of any particular past summer,” said Kevin “Crash” Davis of Ocala/Gainesville rock station WNDD-FM.This summer? One contender is Train’s “Hey, Soul Sister,” a feel-good soundscape popular with listeners from 6 to 60. Other big summer hits this year are Katy Perry’s “California Gurls” and Usher’s “OMG.”As for other tunes on the ultimate summer playlist, locals are steadfast in their convictions. This newspaper asked, and dozens responded — often three of four times.Gainesville’s Lauren Caldwell cited 1968’s “Crimson and Clover” by Tommy James & The Shondells.“It was an oldie by the time I was in high school,” noted Caldwell, artistic director of Gainesville’s Hippodrome State Theatre, “but I remember going to a public swimming pool and hearing this song blasted over the speakers over and over. I don’t remember if it was a jukebox that was connected to speakers — which means someone kept punching that damn number, or if it was controlled from some booth.”Davis naturally has a long summer list: The Eagles’ “Take It Easy,” “Witchy Woman” and “Hotel California”; Paul McCartney and Wings’ “Silly Love Songs”; Rolling Stones’ “Miss You”; The Knack’s “My Sharona”; Hues Corporation’s “Rock The Boat”; and Elton John and Kiki Dee’s pop classic “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.” “They bring back memories of listening to AM radio in the mid/late ’70s on the way to the library and baseball practice,” he said. “In the summer of ’85, before my senior year ... I remember hearing Dire Straits’ ‘Money for Nothing’ and the Hooters’ ‘All You Zombies’ a million times; those two songs take me back in time.”The Eagles came up often when discussing summer songs, including the man-stumbles-into-hell hit “Hotel California,” which ends with one of the most beloved guitar solos in rock history.“My parents and I traveled through California just after my high school graduation, and this song was playing on every radio station every day,” recalled Stefanie Hamblen of Gainesville.Then, of course, there’s Florida’s ambassador of summer slackin’.“Being a Parrothead, of course, (I love) Jimmy Buffett,” said Rosemary Meadows of Ocala. “My fave: ‘It’s Been A Lovely Cruise.’”“Definitely wouldn’t be summer without some Jimmy Buffett. ‘Margaritaville’ is a classic,” noted Suzi Moezzi Starr-Adams, a Tallahassee resident who grew in Ocala and also cited Zac Brown Band’s “Toes.” “Not sure why I have chosen songs with alcoholic refreshments mentioned in them, but, hey, they just seem to work.”Brooks Jordan, marking director at Silver Springs, backs his offerings with anecdotal logic.“Katrina & The Waves’ ‘Walking on Sunshine.’ Just a simple, feel-good tune that reminds me it is important to have fun as we grow a little older. Bryan Adams’ ‘Summer of 69.’ My girlfriend (in 1985) was a year older; she graduated, and the line ‘Jimmy quit, Jody got married’ hit home in terms of how things change.”Many readers cited George Gershwin’s breezy-and-bluesy “Summertime” from his 1935 opera “Porgy and Bess.” There’s also “Summertime” by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince.Other local suggestions for your summer playlist:“The Ballad of Big & Rich” by country duo Big & Rich. “Their first album is great for cruisin’ with the top down," noted Ocalan Bill Bondank.“In the Summertime” by Mungo Jerry“Satisfied” by Boston “Redneck Yacht Club" by Craig Morgan“Boys of Summer” by Don Henley“Beer in Mexico” and “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem,” both by Kenny Chesney“Jack and Diane” by John Mellencamp, then John Cougar“Groovy Little Summer” song by James Otto“Born to be Wild” by Steppenwolf“Born to Run” by Bruce SpringsteenAnd this from Ocala’s Jamie Pancoast Gibson: “How bout some ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ sitting in a tiki bar next to the ocean? OH YEA!”

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